Staff and Board
Riverkeeper and Executive Director
Meredith Brown
Meredith Brown is a strong science-based voice for the Ottawa River, acting as its full-time “watchdog”. Since 2004, Meredith has significantly raised the profile of the Ottawa River and brought important issues such as sewage dumping and radioactive waste to the attention of the public and decision-makers. The Riverkeeper is regularly called on to comment on issues that impact the river and to provide insightful solutions and recommendations to improve the health and future of the Ottawa River.
Meredith holds biology and environmental engineering degrees from Queen’s University and the University of Guelph. She also earned a Masters in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University where she studied with Robert Newbury, a world-renowned river engineer and stream restoration specialist.
Executive Officers and Directors
The Board of Directors of Ottawa Riverkeeper is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization and provides guidance to the Riverkeeper and Executive Director. The board is elected at the annual general meeting by the members and acts in accordance with the by-laws of Ottawa Riverkeeper Inc. Our board members have extensive and diverse organizational, business, community, and technical expertise with a common concern and passion for the ecological welfare of the Ottawa River.
Geoff Green – Chair: Geoff is the founder and director of the Canadian-based organization Students on Ice, a pioneering program dedicated to taking high school students from around the world on learning expeditions to both the Arctic and the Antarctic. Geoff has been leading expeditions and adventures from pole to pole for the past decade and organizations such as the Discovery Channel, World Wildlife Fund, National Audubon and the Smithsonian Institution have enlisted him to lead their groups into the world’s most remote and exciting regions. He has taken dignitaries such as F.W. de Klerk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his expeditions, as well as some of the world’s leading scientists, explorers, and celebrities. When not leading expeditions, Geoff enjoys sharing his unique experiences by speaking at schools, corporate meetings, conferences, and special events across North America. Geoff lives in Chelsea, Québec on the Gatineau River.
John G. Booth – Vice Chair: John is a partner with Conservation Finance International. He holds an Honours B.Sc. in Freshwater Biology and Environmental Science (Guelph), LLB (Windsor), JD (Detroit), and LLM in International Environmental, Tax and Finance Law (London). He is a member of the Bar in Ontario, New York, and Washington DC. Throughout his career John has looked for capital market solutions to environmental issues. Following a stint as a lawyer on Bay Street, he moved to London to join Merrill Lynch International. He has worked in the capital markets for the past 18 years and has been employed by or consulted to ICAP, ABN AMRO Bank (now RBS), the World Bank, Climate Change Capital, and the board of CIBC. He is the Chairman of BuyFX Ltd. and sits on the boards of three public companies: H2O Innovation Limited, Laramide Resources, and Maya Gold and Silver. He is an avid white water paddler and wilderness tripper who spends his summer holidays on a different northern river system each year. He is married to Riina and together they have a young son whose middle name, Jogi, means “river” in the Estonian language. They own a farm near White Lake in the Madawaska River watershed.
Mark Patry – Treasurer: Mark is a chartered accountant and is currently a principal with Welch & Company, an Ottawa-based public accounting firm. Fishing has always been Mark’s passion and he gets out on the river regularly. Mark is a member of the Ottawa Fishing Club and Muskies Canada. Over the years, Mark has witnessed many changes in the river that affect fish and their habitat including invasive species, shoreline development and increased boat traffic.
Regan Morris – Secretary: Regan is a legal counsel to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and has served on the board since 2008. Regan brings to the Board a strong interest in the environment. Rivers have always been a part of Regan’s life: he grew up near the beautiful St. John River in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and he has fond memories of swimming in the Gatineau River as a child at his grandmother’s cottage, near Wakefield. Regan feels very fortunate to live a bike ride away from the Ottawa, Gatineau and Rideau Rivers, and wants to make sure these wonderful treasures are preserved.
David Spence – Past President: David is co-founder of the Wetland Preservation Group; founder and current director of the Friends of the Carp River; past chair of the West Carleton Environmental Advisory Committee; past chair and current member of the Ottawa Stewardship Council; and current director of the Ottawa Wild Bird Care Centre as well as sitting on boards for the Ottawa Rural Clean Water Program, Ottawa Deer Management Committee and numerous public advisory committees relating to development within the Carp River watershed. David’s commitment to the Ottawa River comes from having cherished a speck of shoreline near Arnprior where his family has enjoyed a cottage since the year he was born.
Barry Stemshorn: Barry has over 34 years’ experience in public service with various departments. In 1999 Barry joined the Privy Council office as Director of Operations, Economic and Regional Development Policy. He moved to Environment Canada in 2000 as Assistant Deputy Minister for the Environmental Protection Service responsible for federal legislation to prevent and reduce pollution. He oversaw the creation of the Environmental Stewardship Branch in November 2005, drawing together the Department’s regulatory work on environmental conservation and protection. Currently he is Senior Fellow with the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Service Management at the University of Ottawa. His hobbies include sustainable management of a private woodlot in West Quebec, of which 60 acres of wetland was donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. He and his wife, Charlotte Rigby, are completing construction of an R-2000 home on the Ottawa River near Portage du Fort, Quebec. Barry also enjoys telemark skiing, water skiing, canoeing and fly fishing.
Marc Smith: Marc (B. Soc. Sc/Economics, B. Comm) is a Director of Product Management at Canada Post. He has 18+ years of experience in Marketing, Communications, Product Management, Business Strategy and Strategic Governance in numerous private and public sector organizations. Marc’s greatest strength has been and remains the development of business strategies that align rigorously with organizational goals. Marc is specifically interested in the execution of strategic plans that optimize available resources to deliver the greatest measurable results in line with strategic objectives. Born in Ottawa, Marc grew up spending his summers on National Capital Area beaches and today can often be seen fly fishing on the Ottawa River and its tributaries.
Carrie Wallace: Carrie has a long history of marrying her passion for the outdoors with a love of business and community development. Carrie joins us with 20+ years of experience developing enterprises that encourage enjoyment of and appreciation for the natural world. In addition, she is a current MBA candidate and a managing partner in Common Ground, a Chelsea based conservation development.
Lara van Loon: Lara dutifully served as Ottawa Riverkeeper’s first “Riverkeeper”. After a handful of years working with a Nova Scotia based land trust, we’re excited and honored to welcome Lara back to the organization as a member of the Board of Directors.